Student Profile: Mark Martinez
Surviving and Thriving in a Storm of Globalization
“I’m a survivor,” says Mark Martinez, an information systems programmer at Kraft since 1999 and currently Senior Systems Project Lead. Like many U.S. companies, in recent years Kraft began implementing a cost-savings strategy that involved moving systems support services—including programming—overseas.
Martinez’s department was hit hard. With 70% of its core responsibilities set for relocation to India, only managerial, financial, project management, and other critical business functions will ultimately remain in the U.S. Facing dramatic business change, Martinez found himself in the same situation as many other technical professionals. He held a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems and his work experience was concentrated in a technical field. He had even begun a master’s degree program in computer science. “This experience made me realize that having a computer degree and technical expertise wasn’t sufficient any more,” he recalls.
Martinez isn’t one to give in easily; he took action. He earned his Project Management Professional certification, and in 2003 he entered the Lake Forest MBA program. As Martinez is progressing through the program, he has been developing the skills that will not only keep him afloat, but will help him rise to the top. He is constantly looking for opportunities to demonstrate his new business competencies and earn recognition for his contributions; Martinez also became an early participant in LFGSM’s Leadership Learning® Connections program.
Leadership Learning® Connections is a program, open to all Lake Forest MBA students, in which the School helps participants keep their supervisors apprised of each course’s content and expected learning outcomes. Supervisors are encouraged to assign work projects that will reinforce students’ coursework and provide opportunities to demonstrate their new skills and growing potential to contribute to the company.
The Leadership Learning Connections program worked perfectly for Martinez. “My supervisor conducted quarterly career development sessions where we reviewed what I was learning in my current class,” he explains. “We sought out opportunities where I could apply what I had learned. In this way, I not only reinforced what I was learning, but I increased my visibility and credibility across the organization as well.”
Recognition came quickly. Martinez recalls a meeting in which, as a Senior Systems Manager, he was expected to provide only a technical perspective of the issue. As the meeting progressed, he surprised the group with his knowledge of financial and inventory systems.
“I was able to speak the same language that Kraft’s financial managers speak, and I produced reports from a data warehouse containing pertinent financial indicators,” he recalls. “Understanding the difference between GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) and financial reports, I could create reports that were meaningful to accountants as well as business managers.
“Building my business knowledge and leadership skills has raised my confidence and my ability to thrive in a constantly changing climate,” Martinez explains. “LFGSM has had a significant impact on my career. I was expecting just another MBA, but I’ve been impressed with how well the academics relate to the business world. Having faculty members who are actual practitioners really helps. It’s one thing to be taking a class from someone who knows the material, and quite another to take it from an expert who is passionate about what they teach.”
Martinez notes that everything that he hoped would happen as a result of pursuing his Lake Forest MBA has been coming true. “I have not been disappointed,” says Martinez. No longer the technical guy whose job was threatened by the global marketplace, he has developed the leadership skills that can carry him to the top.
Martinez will graduate in June 2007 with the confidence and competence that will make it possible for him to survive future storms and make meaningful contributions in business for years to come.